Ardent Invective
by alissaISLOVE
Summary: DHr during their fifth year. Hermione is unsure should she pursue Draco like she wants to, or be faithful to her friends? On the surface, everything seems fine, but Draco and Hermione feel intensely towards each other. Warning: language& some sexuality
1. Chapter 1

There were a series of loud thumps as dusty textbooks fell to the ground.

"Hey!" cried Hermione indignantly. "Do you mind?" Draco just smirked at her. Madam Pince peered around a bookshelf, her body soon following.

"Really, really sorry Madam Pince. Just a bit of an accident; won't be happening again," said Hermione before the librarian could voice her complaint. After a long, hard look, Madam Pince disappeared among the musty tomes. "Ugh, honestly." She slammed a book closed harder than she intended to. A cloud of decades-old dust rose up, enveloping the both of them, and they started to cough (although they were muffled coughs as not to attract Madam Pince again). As the dust settled, Hermione started to rub her itrritated eyes. She stopped when she noticed that Draco had not left. "Can I help you?"

His eyes quickly searched Hermione's irritated expression, then scoffed. "I highly doubt that you could help me." As he hurried away, he ducked his head down. Hermione sighed and set her mind to studying.

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Potions class was going better than usual. There was a quiet murmur as students worked over their simmering cauldrons. Hermione ran her finger down her Potions book. "Hmm… how far are you two? Still cutting the alihotsy leaves?" She pursed her lips.

"I'm sorry we put such tender, loving care into our work,"sighed Ron dramatically. Harry laughed.

"Honestly. Even Crabbe and Goyle are farther than you. Do you want me to get you the bundimun eggs or not? You'll need it in ten minutes." The boys nodded. Hermione got up and headed to the supply cupboard. She gathered the eggs. She shut the door with her foot and turned around. The moment Hermione turned around, Draco came up behind her. There was a crackling, shrivelling sound and a cry of, "GOD!"

"Watch it, Granger!" Snape shot at her from his desk. "You're lucky this this. If you had dropped the…" His eyes widened. "OUT! Everyone, out! I'll deal with you later," he snarled as he shepherded everyone out the room, emitting a foul smell. Seconds later, a fog had enveloped half the room, emitting a foul smell. The students groaned as they exited, and there was a frantic rush as they tried to grab their belongings. Once the entire class had assembled outside the heavy door, Snape spoke to them.

"Because of your classmate's foolish mistake, class will have to be cancelled while I get our caretaker in here to sort it out." He paused, looking around at the students, many of whom were having difficulty hiding their glee. "I will, however, be expecting all the questions on pages 335 and 336 to be done for next class. Use your extra time wisely." Just as Harry and Ron, grinning, approached Hermione, Snape called out to her. "Miss Granger. I'm afraid you won't be able to join your friends." His eyes swept over to Ron and Harry, who's grins were slowly fading. "You wait here while I get Argus and some… protective clothing. Unless you two want to help out as well, I'd suggest getting back to your common room." He set off down the hall, robes billowing out behind him.

"Tough luck," Ron sighed.

"Yeah, I mean of all the tings you could've dropped," Harry said sympathetically.

"Well, you can copy our Potions homework if it makes you feel any better," Ron piped up. Hermione laughed at that.

"That's quite alright; I'll manage." They said their goodbyes, and as the sound of their footsteps died, Hermione sighed. She put her bag on the ground and leaned against the wall. Tiredly, Hermione closed her eyes and though about what had happened. When she opened them, a smirking face peered back at her. Startled, she snapped her head back, hitting it on the cold, stone wall.

Draco laughed coldly. "Jesus, you really outdid yourself today."

"Only because _you_ bumped into _me_! Honestly, I was doing just fine before you came along and knocked everything over!" Her cheeks were flushed and she was breathing heavily. "Furthermore," she continued, her voice rising in pitch and volume, "I just--"

"Relax," Draco cut in. "You take everything so seriously." He turned his gaze down the hall, where Snape was returning with Filch. Draco leaned in. "Have fun," he whispered, and whit a smirk he set off towards the stairs leading out of the dungeons.

Snape and Filch handed heavy-looking robes, gloves and goggles to Hermione and they al suited up.

"I do hope you're familiar with _Scourgify_, Miss Granger," Snape said grimly.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was streaming though the towering trees of the Forbidden Forest. The trio sat under a grand oak tree, sketchbooks out on their laps. Fellow Gryffindors sat in and around them. The Slytherins were sitting at a tree on the opposite side of the small clearing. Professor Grubblyplank was in the centre, booming out explanations. They were sketching knarls. She droned on about the several knarls she had in an enclosure. She was setting bowls of milk by the animals.

"Now, see the reaction…"

Hermione gazed up towards the canopy. She breathed in. The air was fresh and biting. She turned her gaze back to the creature she was supposed to be sketching and then down at her own sketch. She added a bit of shading to the knurl's stomach and then put her pencil down.

"Done already? Lemme see that," Ron said, snatching at her paper. Hermione deftly held it out of his reach and put it into her knapsack. "Oh, please, Hermione. I'm terrible at art." Ron continued to talk, but Hermione shut him out.

She turned her gaze back towards Grubblyplank, then looked past her at the knot of Slytherins. She could see Pansy fawning over an in differed Draco, and heard her emit a shrill giggle. Hermione frowned and rolled her eyes. For the next twenty minutes Hermione read a book. She didn not look up until Grubblyplank called from everyone's sketches to be handed in. Ron and Harry were feverishly trying to trace Dean Thomas' drawing. Hermione heaved herself off the ground, brushing dead leaves off her skirt. She rummaged through her bag for her sketch and took it out. There was a small crowd of students around the teacher handing in their sheets. Hermione jostled her way to the front and placed her work in Professor Grubblyplank's hands. No later had she given it to her, she was pushed aide by Draco and his cronies. On y one they placed their sheets in the pile. Draco put a sheet on the pile then quickly withdrew it, muttered, "Wrong sketch." He produced the correct sketch and as the first piece of parchment was shoved hastily into his bag, Hermione caught a glimpse of a mass of curly hair.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione was maing her way very slowly and with no shortage of difficulty back to the castle. While Harry and Ron were doing homework, she helped the newly-returned Hagrid plan his lessons. She was passinghtegreenhouses when she saw that people were in there.

'That's odd,' she thought. 'Unless there's a Herbology club that meets on Sundays...' Hermione marched purposefully towards the greenhouses to stop any misbehaviour. She pulled open the glass door, which was fogged up from thehumidity. The moment she stepped in, she started sweating.

"Do you have a teacher's permission to be..." She trailed off. Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and Blaise Zabini were looking at her."You need permission from a teacher to be in here... unsupervised... yeah, um, do you?" she finished lamely.

Draco looked amused. "You gonna turn us in, Miss Prefect?"

"You know, _you're_ a pre--" Hermione couldn't hold in what she wanted to say any longer. "What you did to Harry, Fred and George at the game yesterday was just low! Now they can't play Quidditch ever again! I hope you're pleased with yourself," Hermione vented.

Draco held his hands out and smiled apologetically. "As a matter of fact, I am... wrote it all myself. Quite a poetic genius, if you ask me."

Blaise stepped up. "_Stop_ taking all the credit. I made up the second bit."

"Forgot you were here, Blaise. Because, as you know, I only have eyes for htis fine specimen." Crabbe and Goyle laughed stupidly as Pansy rolled her eyes. Hermione looked at them incredulously and they stopped.

She turned to go. She picked up her heavy bag and for the second time in a short period of time, books tumbled to the floor as her bag ripped. "Oh, NO! _Again!_" Crabbe and Goyle started laughing again and Pansy's giggle filled her ears. She ground her teeth. Suddenly, she saw feet stop in front of her. Draco crouched down, and picked something up. 'Wait a minute,' Hermione thought. 'Is Draco acting like a real human being?!'

"What the hell is this?!" Draco said, waving around the object hehad picked up.He startedlaguhing as well.

Hermione went beet red. "That--that's nothing." She tried to grab from his hands a lumpy house elf hat she had knit.

"It's ...a teacosy, I think...?!"

"No! Uh... no. It's a hat f-for elves," she muttered.

"Elves! What, you going on a crusade now? Helping to free the elves? Well, it surely is an _attractive_ hat."

"Yeah," Pansy said, near tears, "It'll compliment your hair!

"It's for elves, idiot," Draco snapped at her. The laughter quieted down and an awkward silence descended. Draco took another look at the hat and flung it at Hermione, who caught it, bewildered. He sauntered out, the Slytherins falling in step behind him. Pansy followed last, glaring at her and mouthing the words, 'Fuck you,' at Hermione.

She took a long look at the hat and gazed confusedly at the foliage surrounding her. Suddenly, there was a tap on her shoulder. She gasped and whirled around. The Venemous Tentacula sheepishly withdrew its feelers.

"Only you and I in here, huh?"


	4. Chapter 4

_Before Christmas_

Hermione ran to the toilet stall. Normally she didn't approve of going to the toilets during class, but it was an absolute emergency. She was about to flush when she heard the door open and Pansy's voice floated in. Hermione crouched on the rim of the toilet. She didn't was to face Pansy after last night's episode.

"I mean," Pansy was saying to her companion, "I've done absolutely nothing wrong. Nothing has changed from last year, and starting this year all of a sudden he's all snappy at me for no reason."

"Puberty," said Pansy's friend wisely.  
"Oh, shut up. Obviously not. He's _completely _past his angst years. "

"Are you su--" Pansy's friend never got to finish her sentence.

Pansy cut her off. "Of course I'm sure. I'm _practically _his girlfriend." Her friend muttered something incoherently and Pansy stamped her foot. "_God._ Why am I friends with you? You're useless." As useless as Pansy's friend may be, Hermione felt a pang of sympathy for the girl. There was a silence. Through the cracks, Hermione could discern that they were checking their appearances. They must have been satisfied, for they left shortly thereafter. Hermione gingerly unfolded her legs and flushed the toilet. As she was washing her hands, she looked intot he spotted, aged mirror. Her hair was in a sloppy ponytail. She took out the hair elastic and somehow, her hair was relatively tame. Tucking a bit of hair behind her ear, Hermione smiled and emitted a high pitched giggle as she batted her eyelashes foolishly. A second year walked in and Hermione quickly cleared her throat. She dashed back to class.

Professor Vector was telling the students to turn to page 447 in their texts as Hermione walked in. Automatically, her text opened to the centre. On top of a series of complicated equations sat a pressed Venemous Tentacula flower.

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Dinner conversation that night was focused on Ron and Hermione's prefect duties and Ron's dislike fo the younger students. Druing a lull in the conversation, Hermione found herself gazing towards the Slytherin table, at Pansy and Draco. Pansy was waving food in front of Draco's face, seeming to want to feed him. Sure enough, Draco waved her away.

'Not that the cow doesn't deserve it, but she was right about Malfoy acting coldy towards her,' Hermione thought. She thought she felt grim satisfaction deep in her gut, but she pushed it away. 'I am neither glad nor unhappy about it. I am indifferent. Completely indifferent. Why should I care about their tedious love lives?'

At that moment, Draco looked down towards the Gryffindor table. Hurriedly, Hermione busied herself with her water. She didn't look up for the rest of the meal.


End file.
